Supreme Court holds that ED should provide written copy of the grounds
of arrest
About Enforcement Directorate
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement agency of the
Government of India that is responsible for enforcing Economic Laws and
fighting Economic Crimes.
On 1st May, 1956 - 'Enforcement Unit' was formed in the Department of
Economic Affairs for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign
Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1947.
Currently, it is part of the Department of Revenue, the Union Ministry
of Finance
The Directorate of Enforcement, with its headquarters at New Delhi, is
headed by the Director of Enforcement.
Function of ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE (ED)
COFEPOSA, 1974: ED empowered to sponsor cases of preventive detention
with regard to contraventions of FEMA.
Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA): ED has been given the
responsibility to conduct investigation into suspected contraventions of
foreign exchange laws and regulations, to adjudicate and impose penalties on
those adjudged to have contravened the law.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA): It has the
responsibility of executing the provisions of PMLA by conducting
investigation to trace the assets derived from proceeds of crime.
Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA): It has mandated to attach
the properties of the fugitive economic offenders who have escaped from
India warranting arrest and provide for the confiscation of their properties
to the Central Government.
Recent Development
In its recent amendment, the Central Government listed 15 government
bodies that are required to share information with the Enforcement
Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
